An Earth Bender's Journey
by Audire
Summary: Karo's family is ripped apart by the Fire Nation, but can she still pursue her dreams of becoming a great Earth Bender?


Hey guys! This is my first fanfic...ever. xD; I hope you like it! Please give me some feedback ;D

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An Earth Bender's Journey  
Chapter One

A thin wind snaked between the high, golden treetops, blowing showers of bright leaves from the trees. The leaves swirled down in flowing patterns, closer and closer to the soft, rock-strewn ground.

A figure emerged from between the trunks of two silvery birches: a Fire Nation soldier. The red sunset light glinted off of his ivory white mask as he beckoned to the others behind him.

The leaves rustled ceaselessly as Fire Nation solider after soldier walked through the forest.

"Karo? Where are you?"

Heavy footsteps vibrated through the floorboards as Zheng stormed through the house. Ferocity and anger gleamed in his eyes as he tore open door after door, the harsh bangs mingling with the noise of his footsteps. When each room he looked into appeared empty, he snarled and moved on to the next one.  
"Karo!"  
Zheng stood panting by the front door, looking out at the serene scene before him. Swaying green-brown grasses and golden autumn trees, the sun just disappearing beyond the misty blue ridge. He leaned heavily against the wall and grimaced, massaging his temple. That girl…she was always running off! Had she no respect for her family? She couldn't stay in one place for longer than ten minutes…  
Zheng opened his eyes and sighed, his temper fading. How could you blame Karo? She's still so young. He bit his lip, turning over his thoughts in his mind. But how many times had he told her not to wander off like this?  
He slid to the floor, leaning his head against the wall. He was just so tired…of everything. Nothing was easy anymore. And Karo just wasn't helping him to cope. His own younger sister…all he had left in the world…  
Zheng was interrupted from his pity party by a sullen, pudgy looking servant. He stood in front of Zheng, giving a deep, low bow. "Does Master wish for the forest to be searched?" He asked, in a voice that would have belonged to a bloodhound if they could talk.  
"Er…no." Zheng stood up quickly. "Just…go back to searching the house." He stared out once more at the sloping hill before him. A winding track ran down the slope, curving around the forest towards town. They lived so far away. Just then, Zheng's eye caught something. There were new footprints in the heavy dust and ruts that lay thick upon the path. Someone had run barefoot down it not so very long ago.  
Zheng's face became stony, his gray-green eyes flashing. "Never mind. I know where she is now." He stepped off of the meticulous porch, and began to walk down the track with an icy, determined dignity. Someone was going to be in a whole lot of trouble.

The crowd was in an uproar. Everyone was cheering on his or her favorite, yelling and screaming to be heard. They were standing around a ring, about 15 feet across, in which a bending fight was going on. The group was a little ways away from the edge of the large village of Yijhu.  
The group consisted mainly of boys, although there were some girls there. All dressed in the brown and green clothing of the Earth Kingdom, these children were all from the nearby village. Everyone was between the ages of eight and about seventeen, the younger children stepping on feet and biting ankles to make their way to the front. Most of the older children gave casual, contemptuous nods at the crowd, as if to say 'we are so too cool for that'. A few kids rattled cans full of small coins, grinning and shouting over the others. These were the bookies, and they always brought in a good haul.

Inside the ring, the fight took a momentary pause. One of the fighters looked a little worse for wear. His dusty hair was disheveled, and his face was red and distorted with anger. His breathing was ragged, unlike the calm steady breathing of his opponent. Fists clenched so tight the knuckles were bone white; he stood ready, knees bent.  
His opponent was a tall, almost gangly-looking girl of maybe fourteen or fifteen. Her eyes were a startling green that stood out from her dark face. Her hair, too, was dark, with a hint of auburn in it. It was pulled into a tight ponytail, to keep it out of her face. Her arms were bare, but rough brown gloves covered her hands with holes for the fingers. She too stood in the ready position, giving the boy a lazy, self-confident smile.

Both were dressed in the loose, earth-toned clothing that the rest of the crowd wore. The girl, however, wore clothes of a richer color and cloth than the boy. She was obviously one of a moderately wealthy family.

The boy charged, brown eyes flashing, whirling his staff in his hands. The crowd roared, jeers and encouragements mingling and clashing. Little pebbles and stones danced with his heels, and soon larger ones began to unearth themselves from the ground and fly up towards him. He was obviously an Earth Bender. With one furious thrust of his staff, the stones and pebbles collected themselves and sped full-force at his opponent.  
She threw up her arms in front of her face, dancing around behind him. Before he could whirl around to attack again, she slammed her foot down on the ground. The earth split open and a large rock shot out of it. With one swift motion, she kicked the boulder towards the boy.  
It collided with him mid chest, knocking him back. He skidded for a foot or two, and then flopped back onto the ground. He groaned, trying to shove the boulder off of himself.  
Another boy rushed into the arena and grabbed the girl's hand. He shoved it into the air. "Karo is the winnerrrrr!" He shouted, and the crowd erupted in cheers. She grinned and laughed, pulling her arm back down. She bent and reached out a hand to help her defeated opponent up.  
"No offense, right?" She said. Her voice was light, but also had a rich quality to it, like the first bite of an apple.  
"No offense!" Someone from the crowd exclaimed indignantly. "Karo, he insulted your family!"  
The boy who had come over to congratulate Karo snickered. "Yeah, but we can't blame him for that. Jenn's brain doesn't work on the same level as ours, does it?"  
Karo frowned. "C'mon, guys, don't act like that." She raised her eyebrows extended her hand still farther. Jenn snarled and shoved the boulder off, scrambling to his feet.  
"I can get up by myself." He sneered, brushing dust off of his clothes.

Karo shrugged and brushed a lock of dark hair out of her eyes. "Suit yourself." She turned around and began to walk towards the edge of the ring, but stopped as a sudden hush fell over the chattering crowd.  
Zheng stood on the other end of the ring, his eyes flashing with anger. People backed away from him, eyes wide. No one wanted to mess with Karo's brother. He was an even more powerful Earth Bender than Karo, almost a monster in their eyes. Despite Karo's protection of her brother's good and kind qualities, everyone knew him as something to be feared. Some of the older children remembered when Zheng used to come and talk and laugh with them.

But that had been a long time ago, he'd stopped coming to see them after his and Karo's parents died. Zheng had been 18 when it happened. He had had to take over their entire household, and take care of Karo, who was only 12.

Sometimes the kids could catch snippets of information from the old men who hung around the markets, talking in low voices and giving anyone who walked by suspicious glances. Fire Benders, they had said. Both the master and lady of the Hei household had gone off to fight in the first attempts to scour the land of the Fire Nation. They had never returned.

Karo had been distraught, and wept openly for months. It was hard to get her to come and play with them after that. But Zheng…Zheng had remained stony faced and locked up. You could tell he was still broken apart on the inside. Karo's heart had healed, but his still remained in pieces.

As he stood before Karo, Zheng's face was as cold and angry as ever. She seemed frozen in her steps. The one person she feared was her brother, but she also loved him. Fear was in her eyes then. She knew that he was very angry, and so did everyone else. At least they had the opportunity to run away.  
"Come with me. Now." He said icily, grabbing her wrist with a constricting grip. She winced visibly as Zheng's fingers tightened even more around her wrist. He began to walk back towards the track, Karo trailing behind him.

CHAPTER 2 COMING SOON


End file.
